14 Wait, we don't have a legal right to benefits even though we're forced to pay into the system? That seems completely unfair! How is that constitutional?

5 The court essentially ruled that Social Security is a social program, not a contract, and Congress retains the right to alter, amend, or repeal any provision of the Social Security Act. The case specifically involved a person who was denied benefits after being deported for being a member of the Communist party. While it might seem unfair, the constitutional basis is that Congress has broad powers to tax and spend for the general welfare. The FICA tax is considered a valid exercise of this power, and benefits are authorized spending programs that can be modified. This is different from private contracts or property rights that have stronger constitutional protections.

17 This is why I'm always confused when younger people say they're planning as if Social Security won't exist. Even if it faces funding challenges, some version of it will almost certainly continue. The political consequences of eliminating it would be too severe.

I tried CoinTracker but the problem is some of my transactions were on smaller exchanges that don't connect well with these services. Plus I did some peer-to-peer transactions that don't show up on the blockchain in an obvious way. Do you think the IRS would accept a combination of blockchain data and my personal records?

Yes, a combination of blockchain data and personal records is a solid approach. The IRS understands that crypto documentation can be challenging. They mainly want to see that you're making a good-faith effort to report accurately. For those peer-to-peer transactions, create a separate log with as much detail as possible - dates, amounts, parties involved (you can anonymize the other party), and the purpose. If you have any chat logs, emails, or other evidence of these transactions, save those too. The more supporting evidence you can compile, the stronger your position will be if questioned.

That's not quite accurate. The burden of proof for cost basis is generally on the taxpayer, not the IRS. If you can't prove your basis, they can indeed treat your entire proceeds as gain. I've seen it happen.

Wait really? So we're not supposed to use decimal points at all in the tax forms? I've been doing mine wrong for years then...

It depends on the specific field in the tax software. Some fields accept decimals, while others require whole numbers only. The problem is that most tax software doesn't warn you about this until you try to e-file and get rejected. For example, estimated tax payment fields typically want whole dollars only, no cents. But some deduction fields might accept exact amounts with cents. The IRS e-file specifications are incredibly detailed about which fields accept which formats, but regular taxpayers never see these rules. That's why these errors are so frustrating - we're basically being asked to comply with technical specifications we can't see.

OMG thank you!!! I think this might be my issue. My employer's name has an ampersand in it (Something & Sons LLC) and I keep getting rejected. Going to try removing it now!

How exactly do you track this stuff? Like if I sold some Tesla at a loss in December but then bought some again in January, do I have to manually figure out the wash sale or will my brokerage statement show it? This whole capital loss thing is making my head spin.

Most brokerages will track wash sales for you on your 1099-B forms and year-end tax statements. They'll have a column that shows "Wash Sale Loss Disallowed" or something similar. However, they only track wash sales within the same brokerage account - they won't know if you sold in one account and bought in another, or if your spouse bought the same security in their account. If you're doing your taxes with software like TurboTax or H&R Block, they'll usually flag potential wash sales when you enter your trading information. But it's always good to review your brokerage statements carefully and look for those wash sale notations, especially if you're an active trader or if you're trading the same securities across multiple accounts.

Great point! I just want to add that this is why tax software can sometimes get this wrong. It gets complicated fast when you have multiple types of gains and losses from different years. My tax guy showed me how one year I had long-term losses but short-term gains the next year, and the software didn't optimize how they offset each other. Had to manually override it which saved me almost $900.

That Excel approach sounds really helpful! Would you be willing to share a sanitized version of that template? I'm trying to create something similar but want to make sure I'm setting it up correctly.

I can't share the actual file for confidentiality reasons, but I can describe the basic structure. I have columns for each relevant CFCs and rows that calculate: The CFC's total E&P for the year, then the portion that's Subpart F and the portion that's GILTI. Below that, I list the total foreign taxes paid by the CFC. Then I compute the deemed paid taxes by multiplying the foreign taxes by the ratio of included income (Subpart F or GILTI) to total E&P. Don't forget that for GILTI inclusions under 960(d), you only get 80% of the deemed paid taxes. And everything needs to be tracked by separate income baskets too!

Thanks for pointing that out! I've been confused because some of the materials I'm looking at seem to describe different systems. So post-TCJA we're not using the pooling method anymore? Is there a good source you'd recommend that covers the current rules?